


Serendipity

by calixarene



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Getting Together, I Tried, Las Vegas Wedding, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, manitoproject, no beta we die like men, orion2900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calixarene/pseuds/calixarene
Summary: Prompt: On a trip to Vegas, there was Johnny, there was Taeyong, there was alcohol - lots and lots of alcohol. And then there was a wedding.Jaehyun: doyoung, a dinner won’t make that happenDoyoung: BUT IT MIGHT SO DONT SAY YES TO JOHNNY EITHER JAEHYUN
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73
Collections: Johnyong Manito Project Round 1





	Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> there was a solid attempt but,,, im so sorry, i hope i did the prompt justice :(

Johnny wonders where they got the idea to get drunk on their last night in Vegas _._ He could feel the pounding in his head, the crustiness around his eyes, and the dry and cotton-like feeling in his mouth after drinking too much and falling asleep. He could still taste the beer he has been steadily drinking throughout the day in the back of his mouth. Disgusting. He is definitely not drinking anytime soon. He doesn’t think he’ll have the time for it anyway given that they’ll be flying back to Korea today.

Johnny wonders what time it is but the way his body is aching distracts him. He can’t recall how much he drank last night but given the way he’s feeling it was probably more than he usually would. He stares at the ceiling of their hotel room trying to recall what they did last night. He really regrets drinking as much as he did. 

He drags his hands up to his face to rub his eyes and has to pause, “what?”

Despite the ache that runs through his body he pushes himself to sit up and look at his hand properly. A thin gold ring sat on his left hand’s fourth finger. He digs through his vague memories of last night and has to stop. He was not dealing with this without a shower and at least one cup of coffee. He looks to his right. 

“Taeyong,” he shakes the person behind him enough to wake him up. “Get up.”

“I’m up. I’m up. Stop shaking me,” Taeyong blinks repeatedly to ease the dryness of his eyes. “What time is it?”

Johnny casts his eyes over the various surfaces in their room in search of his phone. “Let me check.”

He gets out of bed to head for the table under the television that was mounted on the wall. He checks his phone and places it back on the table. He grabs an outfit for the plane from his luggage and walks into the bathroom, “A few minutes past 11, we’ll need to pack for our flight back.”

“What time is our flight again?” Taeyong sits up to rub at his eyes and has to pause. Taeyong reaches for his phone on the bedside table to check their flight details. 

“Johnny,” he calls out for the other and waits for him to answer. Taeyong hears the shower start and knows he isn’t getting anything from Johnny until he decides he’s ready to talk. 

Taeyong is glad his hangover isn’t as bad as he thought it would be given the amount that they drank last night. Though Johnny’s might be worse since he definitely drank way more than I did.

He walks around their hotel room they had decided to share and picks up his tablet, Johnny’s laptop, their earphones, their sleep masks, and other things they need for the plane and places them in their respective bags. He gathers his purchases that have accumulated in the past few days despite his attempts to keep them within a reasonable amount. He packs them up in his luggage and makes sure that there’s still enough space for his dirty clothes, toiletries, and skincare products. 

Taeyong hears the shower stop running and grabs his outfit for the plane because despite this being a vacation he knows their fans will probably end up in the airport somehow and it's better to be prepared and look somewhat decent. He places his phone on top of his luggage and checks the room to make sure all of his stuff is packed and wouldn’t accidentally get mixed with Johnny’s when the other man packs his stuff.

Johnny steps out of the bathroom and heads for the hotel phone on the office desk placed in the corner of their room, “I’m going to order breakfast. Do you want coffee?”

“Yeah, get me an americano and some waffles,” Taeyong heads to the bathroom with his clothes in his arms, “We’re gonna talk about what happened after I take my shower.”

Taeyong shakes his head while looking at himself in the mirror. He strips out of his clothes from last night’s drinking session turned wedding and steps into the shower. He is not looking forward to the probably awkward conversation they’re going to have. 

Johnny’s dials for room room service while packing up the new clothes he accumulated over a few days of shopping in Vegas, “Can we have an English Breakfast platter and waffles with strawberries and cream? And two cappuccinos?” He spots a piece of paper on the small dining table in their room. He picks it up and reads through the contents and he spots their signatures at the bottom. It’s probably been filed already and he hopes no one recognizes their names and that everything is kept confidential as it should be. 

“Yes, just charge it to the room.” He brings the paper and places it on the desk and continues to pack his stuff. “Also, add two bottled waters on my order. And can I have the 2 coffee pods brought up too? Yes, thank you.”

Johnny ends the call and rubs his face. He goes back to look at the marriage certificate properly. “Well fuck, so it wasn’t just us getting a matching pair of rings.” 

He tries to recall the rest of their night. They went to The Strip early, got drunk in their hotel, called a cab and got brought to an office, and then he remembers them stumbling back into their room at like 12 midnight. So somehow, between that office and their room they had gotten married. Johnny rubs his face in consternation and tries to recall the things he knows about Vegas weddings. 

“Johnny, is the food here?” Taeyong’s voice comes from the bathroom.

“Not yet,” he replies as he wonders how to deal with this. Vegas weddings despite rumors are completely valid and are not easily annulled. As it is, they don’t even have the time to deal with it because their flight is in less than 6 hours and getting annulled would call too much attention to them and that is the last thing they want. However, Johnny tries to imagine how Taeyong would want to deal with this situation.

He frees himself from his thoughts and packs the last of his stuff into his luggage when he hears a knock. He heads to the door and tells Taeyong that the room service is here. He opens the door to let the waiter bring in the food and requests it to be placed on the dining table. The server is in and out of their hotel room in a few minutes. He hands the waiter a tip for the service. “Thank you.”

He closes the door and hears Taeyong opening the bathroom door.

“Did you get water? I completely forgot to ask you,” Taeyong looks to Johnny while bringing his dirty clothes and toiletries and packing it into his luggage. He checks the room to make sure he hasn’t left any of his possessions. He grabs his charge from the bedside table and places it in the bag he’ll bring on the plane. As he passes by his luggage by the window he takes his phone and checks the time. Twelve thirty in the afternoon. Their flight is at 5 in the afternoon and they still have to return the car rental before checking in their stuff.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Johnny assures him with a smile. “I got us two bottles and the coffee pods refilled because I think we’re going to need it.”

Taeyong nods in agreement because they are definitely going to need coffee for the conversation they were going to have. He heads to the small dining table in their room and starts on his first cup of coffee. Johnny goes to the desk to grab the certificate and heads to the dining table. 

Taeyong sits down and starts on his breakfast turned lunch. Johnny pulls out the seat across from his and takes a sip of his coffee. Johnny waits for Taeyong to start the conversation but he knows that starting to unpack the whole situation would inevitably end up as his role because Taeyong doesn’t like difficult conversations. Taeyong will participate and contribute but if he waited for him to start the conversation it would take time which they didn’t have. 

Johnny looks at the certificate and places it so that it faces Taeyong. He sits back and tries to make sense of Taeyong’s expression. But he waits for him to say something. He wants to hear what Taeyong has to say about this.

Taeyong opens his mouth and ends up biting his lips in thought, “So what are our options?”

“We don’t have much. We either stay married or get annulled,” Johnny leans forward and takes another bite and looks at the paper again. It’s such an unassuming piece of paper that binds them both until they somehow get annulled without any hint of the situation making it to the news. 

“If we decide to get annulled, we’ll have to take it to court and provide proof that our marriage is voidable. As it is, we were drunk which is a valid reason. However, that’s going to take time. Our flight is in a few hours and I don’t know how we’ll be able to get annulled back home,” Johnny tries to explain their best but also more difficult option. He drinks from his coffee to think of another option.

“So, we can get annulled but making sure that no hint,” Taeyong pauses and looks down at the paper. "Of our marriage, gets out would be difficult. Making staying married and acting as usual our best bet of this staying quiet

“Basically, yes. Another option would be to stay married until we somehow get back here and get annulled.” Johnny nods in acquiescence to his statement and continues to eat. He isn’t aware of all the laws here and he’s sure there are more details they’re missing but they don’t really have the time. And if Johnny is honest with himself, he doesn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. Of course, he would prefer being married on his own terms and not on a whim while drunk but as it is, he doesn’t really see himself getting married in the future so this wouldn’t really be getting in the way of future plans.

“Getting an annulment in Korea and keeping it quiet isn't possible either given our jobs,” Taeyong tries to state matter of factly. He looks out the window and tries to continue eating. Married to Johnny wasn’t something he ever imagined happening despite his not so small crush on the man. His crush on him wasn’t even something he likes to think about because they’re best friends and teammates before anything else and ruining their relationship over a crush that might disappear was the last thing he wanted. Though, he’s had this crush for years and the chance of it fading has probably sailed. He takes a sip of his coffee then looks at Johnny, “I guess we’re married for the time being.”

***

“Johnny, did you remove the ring?” Taeyong asks him while looking out of the window. “We’re near the airport already, right? Both of us having rings on our ring finger would be too telling and there’s the possibility of our fansites camping in the airport.” 

“You?” Johnny flicks his gaze to Taeyong for a second and looks back at the road. He needs to take the next exit for the airport. 

“I did, it's safer to not wear it or if you want to wear it place it on a different finger or something,” Taeyong says softly. “But it's your ring and your decision.”

“I’ll move it to a different finger then,” Johnny states decisively. “That should be inconspicuous enough.”

Taeyong nods in agreement and thinks of the addition to his plain gold chain necklace that he always wears underneath all his outfits . It should be safe enough on it. Married and with a marriage certificate and gold ring to go with was definitely not how he imagined their vacation would end. 

Taeyong sees that they’ve reached the airport. He checks the car for the last time to make sure they don’t forget anything important. 

“I’ll do our online check-in so we can just drop our luggage while you return the rental,” Taeyong checks the car’s glove compartment for any of their stuff. 

“Sure,” Johnny turns off the engine and grabs his phone from the center console. He opens the back door. “Can you get my hand carry from the back seat?”

Taeyong gets his sling bag and Johnny’s backpack from the back seat and opens the airline’s online check-in site. He finishes with Johnny’s check-in while waiting for Johnny to get their luggage. Taeyong switches Johnny’s bag for his luggage. Johnny tugs him along after he checks the car for the last time and locks the doors. 

“Johnny, your ring,” Taeyong absentmindedly reminds him while he checks the details for Johnny’s check-in before starting with his. Taeyong feels Johnny tug on his arm to stop.

“Oh right, thanks,” Johnny moves his ring to his index finger instead and tugs Taeyong along again. “Finished with the check-in? We just have to pass by the car rental’s booth before security.” 

“Done with yours and just finishing mine,” Taeyong taps the ‘Check-in’ button at the bottom of the page and lets Johnny lead him across the parking lot. 

“Taeyong, fansites,” Johnny spots them easily and mentally checks he looks presentable enough and nothing is amiss. He opens his email and downloads his mobile boarding pass from Taeyong’s message. 

Taeyong puts in his earbuds and starts to play some music to tune out the incoming noise. The flashes from the cameras cause enough of a headache he doesn’t need to add to it if he can help it. He double checks his boarding pass and catches up to Johnny. 

Johnny passes him his shades, “Here.”

“Oh, thanks,” Taeyong recalls giving it to Johnny the other day for safekeeping but it's nice to know that Johnny remembers the headache he gets from the camera flashes. 

***

“We land early in the morning, we should sleep,” Johnny notes about four hours into their flight while he watches Taeyong pause the movie he was watching. “You have a meeting in the morning with our managers in preparation for the comeback, right?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong pulls out his earbuds and stands up and stretches. “I’ll just use the restroom. Go sleep already.”

Johnny nods and pulls out his blackout sleep mask. He also gets his travel size moisturizer. The air in the plane gets too dry and cold when they turn off the lights. He checks on the divider and makes susureres it's secure. He applies a good layer on and places the bottle on Taeyong’s table. He sets up his area and waits for Taeyong to get back. When he sees him start to make his way back to their seats he lies down and puts on his sleep mask. 

Taeyong sets up his bed and keeps his tablet. He takes the moisturizer from his side table and prepares to sleep. He places the bottle in his bag and exchanges it for his blackout sleep mask and reminds himself to give it back to Johnny when they’re back in the dorm. He checks on Johnny before pulling his mask down.

***

He feels someone tap him awake and tries to shake off the last vestiges of sleep from his mind, “Taeyong, we're less than two hours to touchdown.”

He takes off his sleep mask and blinks. He sees Johnny leaning on his seat and looking down on him. “Thanks. Did they serve the second meal already?”

“Yeah, I told them not to wake you up,” Johnny heads back to his seat. “You can just have them bring it to you now. The seatbelt sign isn’t turned on yet.”

Taeyong gets up and calls for a flight attendant. He shifts his bed to the seat option and waits for an attendant. He stores his sleep mask and gets his tablet to review the things they’ll be going over during the meeting. 

Johnny catches the attention of the flight attendant that was heading for Taeyong’s seat. “He wants his food, could you serve it to him? Thank you.”

The flight attendant nods in understanding and goes back to where she came from and Johnny sees her start preparing Taeyong’s breakfast and starts checking their schedule for the next few days. They're scheduled to continue with the dance practices tomorrow. They also have to record a dance practice video within the next two weeks. 

He sees the same flight attendant bringing Taeyong’s breakfast and reaches across the aisle to signal Taeyong. Taeyong looks up and sees his breakfast coming. “Thanks, Johnny.”

Taeyong temporarily closes the files for the meeting and readies the table for his food. He resumes the movie from last night. 

“Sir, what would you like for your drinks?” the flight attendant waits for his response while setting his food on the table.

“Can I please have coffee, apple juice, and some water?” Taeyong requests as he thinks of which side dish to eat first. “Can I also have some snacks?”

The flight attendant nods and turns to Johnny, “How about your sir, would you like anything?”

“Ah, a cup of coffee please,” Johnny requests while checking the schedule of their practices for their year end award show performances. They have the comeback in a month and they’re attending this year’s Asia Artist Awards and a few others. They also have a few variety shows lined up because management finally realized that their sales were much better when they actively promoted it on different shows. It was going to be a busy few months after their 2 week vacation. 

He knows that Jaehyun with the others came back from their trip yesterday and that Yuta should be back from Japan a few days ago. Mark was with them for the first week of their vacation but met up with some of the others in Greece for the rest of their break. He still couldn’t believe that they were given such a long break and allowed their own trips. Everyone should be back in the dorm by today. He knew that they were cutting their return flight close to the deadline set by their managers but it shouldn’t be a problem. 

He’s still amazed that their fans didn’t completely hound them throughout their break. Them being a bit quiet in their social medias aside from the occasional photos from their trip probably helped. Though he’s positive that they were spotted in Chicago and in California. He saw some pictures of them circulating on Twitter. He recalls the photos the others had taken with some fans along Champs Élysées going around Twitter. He also remembers the pictures of Yuta out in Tokyo going around. 

He wonders how the members would react if they found out that the two of them had gotten married, even if it was mostly an accident made possible by alcohol.

***

“One of our managers is waiting outside already,” Johnny gets off his phone and looks at the start of the carousel to see if any of the luggage is out already. No need to lose their luggage to a fan. Luckily, the luggages were just starting to come out. Johnny spots their bags within the first batch and walks quickly to get both of their bags. 

Taeyong nods and continues to go over the group’s schedule. He’ll need to schedule their practices in the dance rooms. The rest of the members should be back from their own vacations so they can resume with their practice schedule. He’ll also have to remind everyone about their personal schedules. He absentmindedly plays with his chain necklaces and fiddles with the ring. He thinks of telling the members about accidentally getting married to Johnny. He wonders if they should also tell management just in case it gets out. He’ll have to bring it up with Johnny. 

“Taeyong, let’s go,” He sees Johnny with both of their suitcases and reaches out to take one. “It’s fine. Just go and look for our manager.”

Taeyong frowns at him. “Johnny, you don’t have to bring both of our bags.”

“Yong, I said it’s fine. Start walking.” Johnny starts walking with both of their bags, one trailing behind him and the other rolling beside him. 

“Johnny,” Taeyong catches up with Johnny and tries to get him to give up one of the bags. “Come on, give me one.”

Johnny ignores him so he stops bothering with it. They step out of the building and look around for their manager. He sees him right in front of the exit of the airport standing beside the van. He sees some more of their fans and nods at them.

Their manager meets them halfway and takes the bags from Johnny. They stand in front of their car while their manager loads their belongings. They take the time to wave to their fans and let them take pictures. Airports were always like this no matter the time but it doesn't hurt to let their fans take pictures because there's always the chance of a news article coming out about their appearance and that’s always a free advertisement. 

Taeyong feels their manager open the door and he nods at their fans and turns around to get in. Johnny follows him in while their manager gets in the front seat of the van. “We’ll drop the both of you at the dorm and we’ll leave at 8:30 am for the meeting, Taeyong.”

“Okay,” Taeyong nods and takes out his earbuds from his bag. “Can I get someone to pick me up from the office after the meeting?”

“Sure, just message me when you’re about to end and we’ll pick you up,” their manager assures him. Taeyong looks to Johnny to find him already sleeping and turns on his music to get some more sleep before the meeting. 

***

“Taeyong, bring some snacks with you,” Johnny reminds him from where he’s having coffee in their dorm’s dining room. “Your last meal was on the plane and the meeting might extend into the afternoon.”

Taeyong considers it and backtracks to their fridge to get a sandwich and grabs some snacks from his cabinet in the kitchen. “You’re probably right. Thanks.”

Taeyong heads to his bag on the living room couch and places his snacks in it. He waves goodbye to Johnny and reminds him, “Could you tell everyone that we’ll have a meeting tonight?”

“For the practices?” Johnny double checks with him. 

“Yeah,” Taeyong nods and pulls out his phone seeing that he has a message from their manager. He heads out and replies that he’s heading down already. 

He smiles to himself one he gets in the elevator. The man is always telling him to take care of himself better, and constantly reminds him to eat and take breaks. Johnny’s always there when he needs a hug or someone to talk to when the pressure as a leader gets too much. He still recalls how Johnny would comfort him almost everyday. When the hate and libelous statements against him on the internet were at its strongest. When he would spend days in their room crying and trying to forget the statements he would sometimes read. He shakes himself out of his musings when he hears the elevator ding. Really, it’s no surprise he still likes Johnny to this day. 

Maybe this is his chance. Maybe he should try and see if their relationship has a chance of becoming more. Afterall, they’re already married. 

***

Johnny continues to enjoy his coffee and starts composing the message for their group chat.

> **From:** Johnny
> 
> **To:** 127 Squad
> 
> _Johnny: taeyong’s calling for a group meeting tonight_
> 
> _Haechan: are we having dinner then?_
> 
> _Johnny: yep, what do you guys want to eat? jaehyun’s paying._
> 
> _Jaehyun: … I did not agree to this_
> 
> _Doyoung: ooooh, jaehyun’s paying. can we have chicken and jajangmyeon?_
> 
> _Jaehyun: I did not agree to pay_
> 
> _Yuta: can we also have tteokbokki? there’s this new place near us that opened i think_
> 
> _Jaehyun: fine_
> 
> _Jaehyun: anything else?_
> 
> _Mark: thanks hyung!_
> 
> _Johnny: some kalguksu?_
> 
> _Taeyong: yes!! some kalguksu!! thanks jaehyunnie!! <3 _
> 
> _Jungwoo: thanks hyung! <3 <3 <3 _
> 
> _Taeil: what time are we eating?_
> 
> _Taeyong: is everyone good with 7pm? i’m sure this meeting with management should be done by then. i’ll grab us some drinks and dessert before going back to the dorm._
> 
> _Mark: thanks hyung!_

Johnny sees Jaehyun sit across from him while waiting for his food. Their dorm auntie had cooked up breakfast for them. “I’m paying huh?”

“Yep, thank you for volunteering,” Johnny chuckles while checking on the group chat.

“I did not!” Jaehyun grumpily exclaims. 

“Maybe not initially but you did anyways,” Johnny teases him as he gets up for another cup of coffee. 

Jaehyun decides to just les it go. He doesn’t really mind treating the group once in a while. Jaehyun spots Johnny’s new accessory when he sits back down. “I haven’t seen that yet, new ring?”

Johnny looks down on his left hand and nods, “Yeah. Got it over our break. How was your trip?”

“It was good. It was good. Mark said you guys went on a road trip when he met up with us.”

“Yeah, we decided it might lessen our chances of being followed by fans,” Johnny takes a sip of his coffee and offers Jaehyun the rest of the coffee in his coffee press. Jaehyun gets up for a mug. 

“Did it work? We were usually spotted halfway through the day by fans in Europe.” Jaehyun slides his mug across for the rest of the coffee. 

“I think it did. We usually had a day or two at each of our stops where there were minimal fans,” Johnny thinks back on their trip. They would usually get a day or two without much fans following them around. But usually by day 3, there would be some that they’ll repeatedly spot through the day. It’s why they only went to two amusement parks during the whole trip. Fans easily spotted them in parks and they didn’t need more pictures of them going around during the trip. “We usually left by our third or fourth day for a new location.” 

“I’ll try that for our next break,” Jaehyun considers it and compares it to their experience in France and Greece. “We were found by fans on our first day in Paris. The Louvre wasn’t as fun with people taking pictures of us at almost every section. Though I think that was the day we were least followed.” 

“Maybe we should go on a road trip together for our next break,” Johnny recommends. “As a group.”

“And have management make us vlog the whole trip?” Jaehyun jokingly says. 

“Don’t joke about that. You know they will if given the idea.”

“But they might provide us with car rentals and some security if we do,” Jaehyun reconsiders his stance. “That might not be a bad tradeoff.” 

“Hmmm, next time. We just got a break and I don’t think they let us have another for at least another year.” Johnny states matter of factly. 

“Yah, stop making sense. Also, kalguksu? That was purely for Taeyong’s benefit wasn’t it?” Jaehyun smirks and takes his dishes to the sink. “Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“Notice what?” Johnny looks at Jaehyun and raises his eyebrows. 

“That you requested it for Taeyong. Johnny, please keep up,” Jaehyun shakes his head at the man. He doesn’t know who Jaehyun was trying to convince but his continued denial was getting tiring despite being hilarious. Though sometimes he wasn’t sure if it was denial or just Johnny being truly unaware of his feelings. There was an ongoing bet among the other members when the two would get together. 

***

“I’m home,” Taeyong announces from the entryway of their dorm while removing his shoes. He puts them away on his portion of their shoe cabinet. He checks on the others as he heads to their kitchen to put away the drinks and ice cream he bought on the way home. He sees jaehyun on the couch watching a drama while checking his phone. “Is the food delivery here already?”

“Nope, on the way though,” Jaehyun answers him as he changes the show he’s watching. 

“Oks, can you call me when it's here?” He waits for Jaehyun’s confirmation and heads back to his room to get his bathrobe from his room. He hasn’t showered since they left the US and after hours in a stuffy meeting room with management he wants to wash off the day and relax with his members. He reviews their schedule in his head while grabbing his robe and goes to the bathroom. He hears one of the rooms open. The others are probably waiting for the food and he decides that a quick shower would be best. 

***

“Finally, we have a dance practice tomorrow at 8:30. We also have practice in the morning on the day after. I already checked with the managers and the vans will be here by 7:45 so be ready by then,” Taeyong wraps up their meeting so that they can focus on the food. “Any questions?”

“Wait, so we’ll have a variety show on Monday next week, right?” Doyoung clarifies as he gets another chicken. “And a radio appearance to promote our album?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll send everyone a copy of our updated schedule and give reminders the night before as always,” Taeyong reassures them. The rest of the group thanks him.

Johnny, seated across from him, places a serving of kalguksu in front him. He nods at him in thanks and makes sure that everyone is eating something before starting on the kalguksu. He reaches over to the middle of the table for a piece of yangnyeom chicken. “Okay, meeting’s done. How was everyone’s break?” 

Everyone starts talking and he just lets the conversations wash over him while he eats. He sees Johnny talking to Yuta, probably discussing his visit to his hometown. He spots the ring on Johnny’s finger and thinks of his matching ring resting on his sternum. They had decided to keep things under wraps for now. As it is, Johnny was checking news articles being released in the US earlier this morning and he didn’t see even a hint of their marriage getting out. He decides to stop thinking about it and continue eating but sees Johnny raise an eyebrow at his silence. He smiles and shakes his head. _I’m fine_ , he mouths at him. 

Mark sees it from down the table and just shakes his head. He wonders when they would get together. He had hoped that after leaving them in the US something would happen. 

***

It’s been happening so often Johnny would think it was normal if it didn’t make goosebumps erupt over his arms and a swooping sensation happen in his gut. It was normal; if only he wasn’t reacting so oddly and differently than he used to. It wasn’t like this was the first time he would see Taeyong looking at him. Even before the change in their relationship Taeyong would look at him and even other members while thinking. But this time, he didn’t think Taeyong was actually thinking of anything other than him while looking at him. The look on his eye was too focused and present, like he was really seeing him rather than looking at him but something else in his mind’s eye. 

It’s happening right now and he looks at Taeyong in the eye and the man just smiles at him. Taeyong’s looks are really something else. He looks at him in wonder and mouths, _you okay?_

Taeyong just brightens even more and nods, _yeah, i’m okay._

Their manager announces that they’re being called to wait backstage for their turn to record on stage. Johnny feels Taeyong slip to walk by his side. “You okay, Yong? You’ve been quiet lately.”

“I’m fine, Johnny. Just tired because of the comeback and all,” Taeyong leans against him briefly in thanks. He laughs as he sees Haechan and Mark roughhousing going into the elevator. 

“Guys, careful with your hair. Our stylists would get frustrated if you mess it up before recording,” Taeyong reminds them as he enters the elevator after them. Haechan and Mark both freeze because annoyed stylists are the worst and looking like a mess in front of the camera is the last thing they want. 

***

Dinner was a quiet affair with everyone tired and only a few blinks away from sleep. Johnny was falling asleep already and he’s ready to sleep in until whatever time their managers need them up for tomorrow’s schedule. He recalls something about a photoshoot for some magazine but the details eludes him in his fatigue. 

“We have our photoshoot and interview with Elle. They informed us that questions would mostly revolve on our latest album and comeback. I’ve been given the go signal this afternoon by upper management to hint on a future world tour. So just prepare for the usual album questions and the like,” Taeyong reminds them while getting up to watch his dishes. He grabs a small bottle of yogurt milk from the fridge and gets ice cream from the freezer. He sits back on his seat and passes Johnny the ice cream. Johnny takes it and smiles in remembrance. This was something they would do during their vacation, sitting together in comfortable silence in some park bench or in their hotel room while they eat their dessert.

“Is that our only schedule tomorrow?” Jaehyun asks while scrolling through his phone. Taeyong rechecks his calendar app on his phone and reviews the details of their schedule.

“Yes, that’s our only schedule tomorrow. The van will be waiting for us by 10 in the morning. The photoshoot would only last until 5. We’re going to have both solo and group shots and a group interview that’s probably going to be last,” Taeyong takes a sip from his drink and checks their future schedule. “We have the day after that free and then a recording again on the following day.”

“Anyways, good night guys,” Taeyong finishes the last of his drink and gets up. He throws his bottle into their recyclables and heads out of their kitchen. 

Yuta elbows Johnny. “Ow,” Johnny shoots him a look and rubs his arm, “What was that for?”

“You were staring. Again,” Yuta laughs at him then continues to eat.

“I was not,” Johnny argues back. He was not staring. 

“Yeah you were hyung,” Mark pipes up from his seat on the other end of the table while checking his pictures from today for a suitable selfie to post for their fans. Doyoung points to the last photo he took in their dressing room. Mark nods in thanks; that photo should work. 

“Whatever guys. It’s late so I’m going to bed,” Johnny cleans up his dishes and throws his ice cream wrapper away. He wasn’t staring. 

***

“You’re staring again,” Jaehyun remarks from his side while waiting for the group photos. Johnny startles and looks at him. “Don’t even deny it, Johnny. You didn’t even hear me trying to get your attention.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking,” Johnny tries to explain. Jaehyun just raises his eyebrow. 

“I don’t even want to know what you were thinking with the way you looked like you were contemplating eating him,” Jaehyun shakes his head and lets out a laugh. “There’s snacks for us in the dressing room and we have a 20 minute break after Taeyong finishes.” 

Taeyong’s solo shots were ongoing and he was really doing amazing. Well, that’s what Johnny can tell from the photographer’s reaction every few clicks. Taeyong was currently posing on a tall wingback leather chair in a suit when he catches Johnny looking at him. He tries not to break character so instead of smiling he just smirks at Johnny then goes back to looking at the camera.

“Taeyong, can you swing one of your legs over the armrest and then look at the camera? Think intense and sexy,” the photographer requests from behind his lenses. Taeyong uncrosses his legs and swings his right thigh over the right armrest and tilts to his left to lean on the winged sides of the seat. He places his right forearm over his right knee and his left arm folds naturally so his wrist can rest on the armrest. “Like this?”

“Lean more on the arm rest,” the photographer directs him into a better angle. “Yes, twist your body just so that you’re facing more to the side of the seat.”

Taeyong adjusts his position and ends up looking straight to Johnny’s direction. 

“Exactly like that, Taeyong.” Taeyong relaxes into his position and tries to project the image the photographer was asking. He sees Johnny looking at him with something he wasn’t sure he was reading right. He decides to think about it later and focuses back on the camera. 

Johnny tries to ignore the way his pulse raced when Taeyong had looked at him and continues watching the photoshoot. 

***

“And that’s it! Thank you so much everyone!” Their interviewer announces and bows to them and the staff. Once the set was wrapped up, they headed for the dressing room assigned to them while thanking everyone along the way. They take their time changing out of their outfits for the photoshoot because despite the small delays in the schedule, they’re surprisingly on track. 

“How about we have dinner out tonight? Where do you guys want to go?” Taeyong raises the option to the rest of the group. The resounding agreement from everyone makes him laugh. Everyone tries to recommend something and Taeyong lets them discuss amongst themselves while he gets himself ready. 

It’s only when they’re in the car and ready to leave that the discussion ends and they decide on a place. They all agree on going to their old favorite for the privacy that it gives them. The restaurant isn’t the biggest nor the most famous but the meat is good and the side dishes are always freshly made. 

It takes some time to get to the small street where the restaurant is located and by then everyone’s hunger has set in. Taeyong prepares himself to be the one in charge of one of the grills. Once they’re in and told to sit on their usual table Taeyong chooses a seat right in front of the grill. He sees Johnny already placing their usual orders and watches the rest get seated. He sees Donghyuck passing out their utensils and lets himself relax. Johnny ends up sitting on the last remaining free seat at the end of the table beside him while their managers and assigned driver take the table beside theirs to act as a screen for any of their fans. 

He lets the conversation wash over him while occasionally giving his own input. Mostly, he takes care of the meat being grilled. He sees Doyoung catch his eye and give him a look. He looks at him in confusion and mouths, _what?_

It’s only when Doyoung gives the grill then Johnny’s plate a pointed glance that he realizes what he’s doing and almost drops one of the better pieces of pork belly that he was getting ready to transfer to Johnny’s plate. He reviews the past few minutes and realizes he’s been doing _that_ for most of the night. He risks a glance at Johnny who’s busy conversing with Jaehyun. He doesn’t seem to be aware that someone has been placing meat in his bowl. He looks back at Doyoung, _I didn’t notice._ He’s not surprised when Doyoung just rolls his eyes and gives him another pointed look.

***

The days leading up to their comeback disappear quickly with their schedules filled with dance practices and stage rehearsals. And like every comeback, they work their bodies to their limits in preparation until they have to drag themselves to their beds everyday. But Johnny doesn’t mind it. The months of hard work and fatigue becomes worth it when he sees their fans enjoy their new songs and performances.

The last week has been particularly exhausting though with the main choreographer making them go over all the songs in the new album with choreography and making sure that they were as synchronized as possible, for each one. Johnny has never hated the numbers 1 to 8, until now. When he closes his eyes he can still hear the choreographer counting and Taeyong occasionally keeping beat. 

On that note, if he was tired, he doesn’t even want to think how Taeyong must be feeling. The number of meetings he’s having with their management has exponentially increased as the day to their comeback got closer. They all know that the company is expecting them to achieve better charts and sales after their unexpected success from the last comeback and the preorder count they have. 

As it is, he knows Taeyong is on the way home from another meeting and while everyone has turned in already he stays up and waits for him. Taeyong probably hasn’t eaten and Johnny has made sure there’s food on their stovetop and that the bath is halfway filled. He’ll finish filling it when they’ve finished eating. It’s the least he can do for their leader who’s been running interference against their company’s micromanaging and insane schedules. He knows if management has their way, they’ll be in the practice rooms until 2 or 3 am and back in there before 8 in the morning. 

Waiting for Taeyong to come home, eating dinner with him while the rest of the members are already asleep, drawing his bath for him. It felt too domestic, but oddly enough, it was also really calming for Johnny. He’s been taking care of Taeyong, and vice versa, since they were trainees. It just feels like a natural expansion of the things they do for each other. However, the feeling of domesticity leaves him slightly off-kilter when he’s reminded that they’re basically married at least by paper even if not by actions. 

Though if he thinks about it too deeply, the possibility of a future like this with Taeyong almost feels inevitable. So he won’t. Instead, he sleeps because tomorrow is the day their new title track will drop and another month of promotions will commence. He’s already asleep when Taeyong slips into their room after his bath. 

***

“So Taeyong, we have here a question from a listener,” The music was fading and when Taeyong checks the light that signals that they’re on air is on. “Give one member who you want to thank right now and what for?”

“Just one? This is difficult because I want to thank all the members for always doing their very best but if I’m allowed to thank just one it would be Johnny,” Taeyong pouts lightly. He’s thankful for all his members but throughout the preparation for this comeback Johnny has become his rock. He doesn’t know if their vacation that they decided to take together and their accidental marriage played a part but he hasn’t been this sure of their friendship since their debut. 

“Particularly, I want to thank Johnny for always taking care of me. I think sometimes as the leader I forget to take care of myself despite the constant reminders from the others but Johnny always makes sure I remember.” Taeyong shoots Johnny a smile and has to grin because he looks surprised. 

“Ah, Johnny, you seem surprised that Taeyong chose you,” The DJ after seeing that Taeyong was finished talking looks at Johnny seated beside him. “Why is that?” 

“Hmm, I think I’m mostly surprised because I haven’t been doing much compared to the others when it comes to reminding Taeyong to rest or take care of himself,” Johnny tries to explain but the rest of the members start to shake their head and motion no. The DJ laughs. 

“I think the rest of the members disagree though, Johnny,” She looks around and sees that they all seem to want to share. “Anyone want to start on why?”

Doyoung presses on the button that will turn on his mic, “Johnny probably thinks we also do the things he does for Taeyong but we don’t. Sure, I remind Taeyong to go home already or to eat but Johnny would be the type to wait for Taeyong and eat with him. I remember when Johnny stayed up to wait for Taeyong because he had a meeting after our practice.”

“Oh, I remember that too. Johnny hyung was just lounging on our couch while everyone had already eaten and started getting ready to sleep,” Mark pipes up from his seat. “I asked him if he’d eaten already and he said he’ll wait for Taeyong hyung.”

“There was also the time he went back to the practice room. It was late already, past midnight if I remember correctly. He went back to drag Taeyong back to the dorms,” Yuta recalls. They had a particularly brutal practice that day too. The head choreographer and dance director was pointing out all their mistakes and blaming Taeyong for the shortcomings of the group. Taeyong had elected to stay behind and practice some more so that come their morning practice he can check everyone over. 

Johnny tries to stop the burning on his face. The members did not need to announce that on a radio broadcast and Taeyong shouldn’t be agreeing with them. The DJ nods. “Well Johnny, it seems like the group agrees with Taeyong.”

***

“Okay everyone, we have a free day tomorrow then back to promotions after that,” Taeyong announces over breakfast which is usually eaten on their floor meaning everyone was here. They have a full schedule today. A music show and an interview. The music show will take most of the day and the interview will probably last well into the night. He hopes the promise of a free day tomorrow will give everyone the energy to get through the day. 

“Yes!” “Hyung, for real?” “Oh thank god.” Everyone exclaimed and tried to talk over each other with that announcement. Taeyong confirms their schedule and everyone quickly becomes excited to finish their schedule for today. 

Taeyong quickly finishes his breakfast and hurries everyone to do the same. The vans are already waiting for them to go to the studio. He thanks their dorm aunt for the meal and gets his bag from his room. The rest of the members also finish their breakfasts and follow Taeyong’s lead. 

Johnny waits for everyone to finish breakfast to get up from the couch and stands by their door. He double checks that everyone was on the way down while Taeyong and their managers check that they all get into the vans without problems. 

In the elevator, he thinks of what he wants to do tomorrow. He’s definitely sleeping in after all the nights where they would be lucky if they could squeeze in 4-5 hours of sleep. Remembering the new restaurant that had opened up right before they left, he ponders the merits of eating out for dinner tomorrow. He lets the thought rest for now and leaves it for tomorrow afternoon or when he wakes up. 

***

Today is a free day but his body has gotten used to waking up early since comeback promotions started and Taeyong finds himself awake and ready to do something by 9 AM. But the silence outside his door tells him that everyone is probably still in bed either asleep or still resting. 

He takes the chance to think of how he’s going to spend the day. Despite knowing about the free day before everyone else, Taeyong hadn’t given it more than a passing thought due to their busy schedule. He has time to do things today and decides to eat at that restaurant that opened right when they were leaving for their break. Dinner sounds like the best option. Everyone would definitely be awake by then and hopefully, someone would be interested and willing to go out.

He stretches and gets ready to stand up. He decides against getting dressed and just puts on a shirt instead. He has his fishes to feed before anything else. Once that’s done, he decides to ask Doyoung if he would like to eat dinner with him later.

> **From:** Taeyong
> 
> **To:** Doyoung
> 
> _Taeyong: doie, wanna grab dinner together?_
> 
> _Doyoung: sorry taeyong, i already made plans to do some shopping with jae and taeil_
> 
> _Taeyong: it’s fine, i’ll just ask johnny instead_
> 
> _Doyoung: sorry again taeyong :( do you need to me buy anything for you?_
> 
> _Taeyong: it’s fine doie! i don’t think i need anything right now but if i do, i’ll let you know_
> 
> _Doyong: ok yong! tell me if the restaurant is good i might try it next time we have a break again :))_

Taeyong decided to ask Johnny now rather than later. Johnny might have plans and it's better to find out now if he’ll need to change his plans for tonight.

> **From:** Taeyong
> 
> **To:** Johnny
> 
> _Taeyong: johnny, you up?_
> 
> _Johnny: what is it yong?_
> 
> _Taeyong: you wanna try the new restaurant that we were talking about before we left?_
> 
> _Johnny: sure, do you want me to ask mark if he wants to come?_
> 
> _Taeyong: sure! he wanted to try it as well right?_
> 
> _Taeyong: do you think anyone else wants to try it? Yuta?_
> 
> _Johnny: i can ask him_
> 
> _Johnny: i’ll text you once they reply_

***

Doyoung opens up a chat named _NO PARENTAL UNITS_.

> **From:** Doyong
> 
> **To:** NO PARENTAL UNITS
> 
> _Doyoung: Do not go out with Johnny!_
> 
> _Mark: what? why? hyung just asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him and taeyong hyung :( I wanted to try the new restaurant :(_
> 
> _Doyoung: i’ll go with you next time, mark. let them have this date._
> 
> _Doyoung: i am tired of them, they need to get together before this decade ends_
> 
> _Jaehyun: doyoung, a dinner won’t make that happen_
> 
> _Doyoung: BUT IT MIGHT SO DONT SAY YES TO JOHNNY EITHER JAEHYUN_
> 
> _Doyoung: anyway, i already made sure taeyong won’t ask you since i told him we’re going out with taeil_
> 
> _Jaehyun: wtf i wanted to stay inside today_
> 
> _Doyoung: don’t make me a liar jung jaehyun!_
> 
> _Taeil: guys, it’s too early for this_
> 
> _Taeil: doyoung, wake me up an hour before we leave_
> 
> _Doyoung: okay hyung~_
> 
> _Yuta: well, it's a good thing i saw this i almost replied to johnny’s message first_
> 
> _Haechan: does this mean our get-the-parental-units-together plan has officially started_
> 
> _Jungwoo: omg does it_
> 
> _Haechan: because i am tired of the pining from tae hyung_
> 
> _Haechan: also mark, start kicking johnny hyung to actually do something, anything!!!_
> 
> _Jungwoo: do something please, his continued denial makes me wanna puke_
> 
> _Mark: hyuck.. i dont think i can make hyung accept or recognize his feelings_
> 
> _Haechan: i trust youll be able to do something_
> 
> _Haechan: oh btw mark, if you really wanted to eat out today, there’s this place i wanted to try :D_

***

“It’s weird,” Johnny walks into the restaurant with Taeyong right behind him. “I was sure Mark mentioned that he wanted to try this place.”

“Hmm, what do you mean weird?” Taeyong follows the server that’s showing them to a more private table upon Johnny’s request. The table was better hidden from any of the windows of the restaurant. It would lessen the chances of anyone watching them. 

“He said yes. Then suddenly he took it back.” Johnny sits down and starts perusing the menu placed on the table. He decides on a cheesy baked salmon and their recommended pasta. He watches as Taeyong give his order of a pan-seared steak with rosemary and garlic butter. Once the server leaves them he looks back at Johnny.

“Well, maybe he just wanted to do something else,” Taeyong tries to reason with Johnny despite his thoughts on the situation. 

Johnny shakes his head, “Still weird, he mentioned wanting to eat here just a few days ago.”

Taeyong raises an eyebrow at that because that was quite odd. Mark wasn’t the type to turn down the opportunity to eat with them. Especially since he knows he can get either him or Johnny to pay for his meal with little effort. Yuta turning down the chance to hangout with the two of them was also weird. How exactly Doyoung was involved he wasn’t sure but Taeyong was sure this was Doyoung’s doing. This whole thing reeked of his influence.

> **From:** Taeyong
> 
> **To:** Doyoung
> 
> _Taeyong: doyoung, what did you do_
> 
> _Doyoung: what? i didn’t do anything. what are you talking about yongie?_
> 
> _Taeyong: fine, we’ll talk about this later_

Taeyong puts away his phone when he sees their order being brought to their table. “Oh! You got the pasta that they recommended?”

“Yeah,” Johnny looks at the plate being placed on their table. Johnny recalls the serving size written on the menu, it was supposed to be good for 1 person but this looks more like it can feed 2 or maybe even 3 people. “You can have some. I wasn’t expecting it to be this much.”

Silence settles over their table while they eat but Taeyong doesn’t mind. Instead he lets his thoughts wander. This comfortable, though at times quiet, companionship he has with Johnny is something that he enjoys and at times even craves, especially in the midst of their busy schedules. 

He recalls the time when they would still schedule their conversations. There were times when they would take the time to talk about their day, doubts, and dreams, but there were also times when they would spend the time in comfortable silence just soaking up each others’ presence and quiet support. He thinks that’s when he started falling for him. Johnny has always been such a steady and sure presence in his life, like the knowledge that the sun will still rise in the morning and set at night. He knows he doesn’t mind having Johnny in his life for however long he can have it. Maybe that’s why, despite the slight reluctance he had initially exhibited about their marriage, he was actually glad about it. 

“Johnny,” Taeyong decides to break the silence. “I’m sorry about the other day on the radio broadcast.”

“Huh? Why?” Johnny wonders why Taeyong was apologizing. 

“I didn’t think the members would bring up so many things and put you on the spot like that.”

“Ahh, well, it wasn’t like you were expecting them to do that,” Johnny assures him. He doesn’t mind what happened. Though it was a bit uncomfortable it wasn’t exactly embarrassing. “Also, you’re welcome. You know I don’t mind looking out for you like that.” 

***

He really doesn’t mind looking out for Taeyong. Johnny ponders that fact as he stares into the darkness of his room. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and Johnny does not mind looking out for Taeyong. 

He looks out for the other members but if he thinks about it, the care he gives Taeyong is light years away from the care he gives the others. When he tries to recall when he started looking out for Taeyong he can’t bring to mind any one instance when he decided to do so. It just seems like a natural, almost inevitable, addition to their relationship. 

It was normal to him but having everyone point out the extent of things he does for Taeyong, especially recently, makes him wonder. He knows his feelings for Taeyong aren’t completely platonic but ever since their accidental marriage he had decided to just put them aside and pretend they don’t exist. Harboring feelings for Taeyong when he wasn’t sure the other felt the same way and possibly ruining their good relationship wasn’t something he wanted to risk given that they were permanently tied for the foreseeable future. 

He decides to let the thought rest for the time being and get some sleep; they have another full day tomorrow.

***

“Doyoung, what did you do?” Taeyong sits on the lone chain in his room and questions him. 

It’s only 10 in the morning and given that they have a schedule in an hour, Doyoung wonders if he can postpone this conversation tonight. Taeyong isn’t the type to let this go once he’s made up his mind and despite how well he can lie, Taeyong has always been good at sniffing him out. 

Thinking about it, telling him what he did might be a chance for him to push Taeyong to actually do something about his current relationship with Johnny. Because if their constant nudges aren’t working, maybe a straightforward conversation would. There’s only so much of this dancing around he can take from both of them. 

“What do you mean?” Doyoung decides to get it over with. He gets out of bed to get ready while being interrogated. 

“The other day, the dinner. What was that about?” Taeyong watches him as he gets ready. 

“You mean your date with Johnny?” Doyoung cheekily questions him.

“It was not a date,” Taeyong raises his eyebrow at him. “I invited you before I even invited him. In fact, we opened the invitation to the rest. Not that anyone took us up. Not even Mark.”

“How does this have anything to do with me?” Despite deciding to come clean, Doyoung was not going to make it easy for Taeyong.

“Doyoung, we asked Mark. Mark who almost never passes up the opportunity to go with us. He said yes, then took it back.” Taeyong wonders if Doyoung is being purposefully obtuse with him. He checks his phone, the van is about to come in 20 minutes and he still needs to make sure everyone is up and ready to go.

“Fine, I just told him to let the two of you have dinner alone,” Doyoung rolls his eyes as he checks his bag for everything he wants to bring today. His tablet, earphones, and his charger is already inside. He grabs his wallet from his cabinet and opens his door. He sees Johnny getting something in their living room and has to hide a smile. Perfect. 

“Let’s go, the van is almost here right?” Doyoung motions for Taeyong to go before him. 

“Whatever for?” Taeyong nods and heads out and turns to the direction of their kitchen. He checks the message from their manager and sends a message to Taeil to get everyone down.

“So that maybe the two of you will end up together before the year ends. You’ve had this Thing for him for the longest time and everyone agrees Johnny’s half in love with you already,” Doyoung smirks, he loves when his timing is perfect. 

Johnny raises an eyebrow from the end of the short corridor and meets Taeyong’s eyes. 

Taeyong has to take a breath because there was no way Johnny hadn’t heard what Doyoung just said. He knows Doyoung is just trying to help and he’s acting on incomplete information but right now Taeyong is just worried because he wasn’t sure how Johnny was going to react to being tied to him now. 

“Doyoung can you grab the rest of the members and tell everyone we’ll be down soon,” Taeyong asks of him. Doyoung looks at Johnny. He might have set this up but if Johnny hurts Taeyong in any way Johnny better look out for him. Doyoung meets Johnny’s eyes to look him down and does as Taeyong has asked of him.

Taeyong waits for Doyoung to get everyone out of the dorm and checks his watch. He has less than 15 minutes before they have to leave. Johnny leaves him in the corridor to grab some food. He saw Taeyong slip into Doyoung’s room earlier and knows he hasn’t eaten anything yet. 

He thinks about what he just heard. He knows Taeying is probably already overthinking where he left him but he decides that the conversation they’re about to have will definitely take more than the few minutes they have. He heads back out and sees Taeyong still standing where he left him. 

“Taeyong, it’s fine.” He places the sandwich in Taeyong’s hand and pulls him to the door. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

***

He knows he should be sleeping because it's way past midnight and they have to be up by 6:30 in the morning, but Johnny had pulled him aside after their late dinner to tell him they’ll talk after everyone was in their beds. 

He sees his phone light up with a notification and looks down to see a message from Johnny. He quickly opens to read it.

> **From:** Johnny
> 
> **To:** Taeyong
> 
> _Johnny: You still up? I’ll be there soon._
> 
> _Taeyong: yeah i’m up. the door’s unlocked._

Taeyong tries to relax, Johnny had said it’s fine and he wasn’t the type to lie. Especially not when it comes to things Johnny knows he worries about. He hears a soft knock and his door opens to let in Johnny.

“Hey,” Johnny quietly shuts the door behind him and flicks the lights open. “Sorry, I had to wait for Hyuck to fall asleep.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” He pats the free space on his bed. “Have a seat.”

Johnny takes the offered spot and faces him. Johnny gives looks at him and he resists the urge to look away and instead pull his favorite plushie into his lap. Snuffles wasn’t present for his last serious conversation with Johnny but at least they’re here now, though he would prefer if this conversation didn’t have to happen at all. If only Doyoung hadn’t set him up like that. 

“Taeyong,” Johnny starts and he seems to hesitate with his next words. “About what Doyoung said earlier, was that true?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong bites his lips. It is already out and he can’t deny it given his reaction this morning. He takes a deep breath. “Yeah. It is.”

He looks back down on Snuffles and fiddles with their ear while he waits for Jonny’s response. The silence this time is uncomfortable. It makes his heart race and his palms sweaty. 

“Taeyong,” Johnny tries to get his attention but he resolutely keeps his head down. If he was going to be rejected he’d rather not see Johnny’s face when he does it. “Can you look at me? Please.”

“Johnny, if you’re just going to tell me you don’t feel the same, it’s fine.” He twists Snuffles’ ear around his hand. “You aren’t obligated to feel the same just because we’re married. Doyoung shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.”

Just because Johnny was fine with his feelings does not necessarily mean he returns them. No tramples on the little bud of hope attempting to flower in his chest and steels his heart. 

Johnny shakes his head. Taeyong was not likely to listen to him at this point. He reaches for Taeyong’s chin and leans forward to kiss him. He sees the baffled look in Taeyong’s eyes and has to smile. “I did say it was okay this morning, didn’t I?”

Taeyong shakes his head. “Yeah, but just because you said it’s fine doesn’t necessarily mean you felt the same way.”

“But I do,” Johnny reassures him. “I’ve liked you for quite some time already.”

Taeyong decides to take what he was being given and stops questioning if Johnny’s feelings were real. If he was going to confess he might as well go all the way.

“Johnny,” Taeyong looks him in the eye and ignores his shaking fingers. Confessing how immense his feelings are shouldn’t be this terrifying, but even Johnny saying he likes him cannot stop the clenching in his gut. “I don’t just like you.”

He sees it when Johnny understands what he’s trying to say and his stomach clenches. He watches as Johnny’s smile gentles and bites his lip.

Hearing the implied _I love you_ in Taeyong’s words makes Johnny’s heart soar. Johnny pulls slightly on Taeyong’s chin to get him to stop biting his lip. “I love you too.”

Johnny places another kiss on his lips and gets up. He tugs at Taeyong's hand to get him off the bed as well. He will definitely be interrogated by the others tomorrow but he’s sleeping beside Taeyong tonight. 

Taeyong lets Johnny pull him off the bed and watches as he pulls back his comforter. 

“Come here,” Johnny gets under the covers and invites Taeyong in. 

Taeyong tries to not laugh. “That’s my bed, Johnny. I should be the one inviting you to it.”

“You can always invite me another night, but it’s almost 2 and we have a schedule again tomorrow,” Johnny gets comfortable in Taeyong’s bed and waits for him to get in. “Come on, husband of mine. We have an early morning later.”

Taeyong shakes his head and gets into bed as well. Once he’s under the covers, Johnny pulls him close and places a kiss on his forehead. 

“Good night, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is the longest thing i have ever written in my sporadic fanfic writing career. oh gods.


End file.
